Park Cities Legends & Legacies — Leslie Ware & The Dedman Family
Legends & Legacies is a series of articles focusing on some of the most prominent and accomplished families of Highland and University Park.
In this installment of the series, we’ll be taking a retrospective look at the life and career of prominent Dallas attorney Leslie Ware as well as the Dedman Family, founders of ClubCorp.
- Additional L&L profiles: Jerry Jones, Edwin L. Cox, Andrew Beal, The Crow Family, John Tolleson, Thomas O. Hicks & Robert Haas, Gerald J. Ford
Table of Contents
- Career Highlights
- A Lawyer’s DNA
- Education / Dedman Family
- 4500 Preston Road
- Business Endeavors
- Charitable Endeavors
Career Highlights
Leslie Ware is a Dallas attorney specializing in managing and monetizing intellectual property portfolios, work he has performed for corporations, partnerships and individuals.
The objective in working with IP portfolios is typically to generate a profitable monetary return for the innovator, while offering convenient access to underlying technology rights to the marketplace.
An innovator himself, Ware holds several patents for water safety and regulation apparatuses:
A Lawyer’s DNA
Perhaps a sharper portrait of Leslie Ware the man, can be painted by taking a closer look at his father, Orlin Dale Ware (Dale passed way in 2014 after battling cancer).
Dale was born in Texarkana, earned his master plumbers license, was a member of Local Union 100, owned a commercial plumbing business and also assisted his son in developing real estate.
Excerpts from an editorial published upon Dale’s retirement from the Coppell City Council, where he served from 1980 to 1988, describe his character, and perhaps help to illuminate that of his son:
“Dale Ware feared no one. He took on developer and city manager alike when he disagreed with them. They might have had finer threads or speech, but not a finer mind.”
“You could disagree and debate with Ware for hours (and most everyone did, because he is an opinionated guy!), but still remain friends. Arguments did not fall on deaf ears; he gave your opinion a chance.”
“Perhaps the most significant characteristic of Ware was a maturity that allowed him to look beyond the pettiness and disagreements of today to the broader picture of friendship and caring of tomorrow. He knew how to forgive and accept and move on. With him, everyone always had a second chance.”
Education
Leslie Ware was born and reared in Dallas, earning his undergraduate degree from SMU and his J.D. from the SMU Dedman Law School in 1992.
Upon graduating, Ware went on to specialize in patent management, patent licensing, and patent litigation.
Dedman School of Law
The Dedman School, founded in 1925, was named in 2001 for its benefactors, Nancy and Robert H. Dedman and their family.
The Dedman Family
Through their decades long generosity, the Dedman family has brought to life some of the most recognizable and inspirational programs in the DFW area, including the Dedman School of Law, the Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, and the Dedman Center for Lifetime Sports at SMU.
The family matriarch, Mrs. Nancy Dedman, was married to Robert H. Dedman Sr. for 49 years before his death in 2002 from a long-term illness (Mr. Dedman was 76):
- 1950’s: Robert Sr. started his career as a lawyer, but soon after learning to play golf, decided to invest in golf courses instead
- 1957: Dedman founded Country Clubs, Inc. (later renamed ClubCorp)
- 1958: Country Clubs begins constructing Brookhaven Country Club — its first club
- 2002: By the time of Robert’s death in 2002, ClubCorp had grown to become the leading operator of golf clubs with over 200 resorts in its portfolio.
- 2006: Robert Dedman, Jr. sold ClubCorp in 2006, but the family retained Pinehurst Golf, which he has since transformed into a multi-sport resort
“You don’t have to be a golfer to understand that the game involves keeping score, hoping to win and learning to lose.” — Robert Dedman Sr.
About ClubCorp
Launched by Robert Dedman Sr in 1957, the company is currently owned by Apollo Global Management (a private equity firm, NYSE:APO), which took the country club operator private in 2017, in a deal valued at $1.1 billion.
Prior to Apollo’s acquisition, from 2013 to 2017, ClubCorp traded publicly on the NYSE under the ticker MYCC.
In 2022, ClubCorp made the announcement that it was rebranding itself to ‘Invited’.
“Invited is not just a name. It’s everything we are,” Invited CEO David Pillsbury said in a press release. “We want our members, guests and team members to know that Invited is where they belong.”
Dedman Residence
Mrs. Dedman, blessed by excellent health, is thankfully still with us, maintaining a home in the Volk Estates neighborhood of University Park.
Inspired by its ‘L’ shape lot, Mrs. Dedman’s home has one of the most stately and regal driveways in all of Park Cities.
Ware Residence — 4500 Preston Road
Neighboring Jerry Jones, this 6+ acre property, previously owned by the Crow Family and later Andrew Beal, sold in 2021 to Leslie Ware.
While construction on the lot is still in its early phase, below is what the Crow Estate looked liked prior to its tear-down. For a tour inside what was once one of the most historic homes in Dallas, click here.
Business Endeavors
Some of the business ventures Ware is currently involved in include Outlander Capital, PanOptis, Marconi Group and Crow Holdings.
1. Outlander Capital
Outlander Capital is an investment firm with investments spanning Blockchain, Technology, Entertainment, and Music.
2. PanOptis
Established in 2017, PanOptis is a patent acquisition and management firm.
By leveraging in-house patent management services, PanOptis is able to manage patent portfolios, while giving innovators time to focus on new development.
They accomplish this by identifying valuable patents in Client IP portfolios, and then marketing them to global businesses that utilize the technology.
3. Marconi Group
Founded in 2017, Marconi creates and supports premier IP licensing platforms with the goal of simplifying patent licensing across technologies and product areas.
- The company is named after Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian inventor credited with creation of a wireless telegraph system. Marconi is recognized as the inventor of radio, and he shared the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Karl Ferdinand Braun in recognition of their contributions to the development of wireless telegraphy
The company provides services and support to each of its platforms, including legal, finance, human resources, patent portfolio management, marketing and communications.
Marconi Platforms include:
“Ultimately, we’re focused on a better way forward for IP creation and licensing,” said Les Ware, cofounder of the Marconi Group. “Being part of the bigger ecosystem allows us to become more efficient, collaborate more effectively and reduce transactional cost for our licensees.”
4. Crow Holdings
Ware serves on the board of directors for Crow Holdings.
- to learn more about the Crow Family, click here
Charitable Endeavors
Dedman School Endowed Professorship
Les and Amy Abboud Ware have given $1 million to the SMU Dedman School of Law to establish an endowed professorship.
“Great cities need great universities, and great universities need great professors,” — Amy Ware
The Wares say their time at SMU not only allowed them to succeed in their careers but also led to their meeting, marrying and building a family, a combination they say has been “the ultimate gift.”
“The university has given us so much — our education, our livelihood, our friends,” said Amy Ware, a native of Omaha, Neb., who received two bachelor’s degrees from SMU and a J.D. from Dedman in 1990.”
While the endowment gift is from both, the Amy Abboud Ware Professorship bears Amy Ware’s name.
“Amy left a successful practice to rear our four children,” Les Ware said. “I wanted to honor her legal accomplishments,” which include being named one of the first female presidents of the Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.”
Emergency Loan Fund
The Amy Abboud (’87, ’90) and Leslie Ware (’89, ’92) Emergency Loan Fund is a revolving loan program established for the purpose of providing emergency loan assistance to law students who have unexpected financial needs arise during the course of the year.
“Amy and I hope this loan is helpful to students you in a difficult or stressful period. Years from now, when you are a successful lawyer, we hope that you will remember it and use your skills and power to help some other person in need.” — Leslie Ware
Other Causes
Through the Amy and Les Ware Foundation, the couple also supports causes promoting children’s health, education and shelter.
Amy has also served on the board of trustees for St. Mark’s School of Texas and been a member of the Dallas Museum Art League and a trustee for Dallas Children’s Theatre.
